


Keep Burning

by XingPanda



Series: justice will prevail, you say? [10]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Panic Attacks, ace is doffy's little boy now no takebacks, marine AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-02 23:33:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16314776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XingPanda/pseuds/XingPanda
Summary: “The son of Gol D. Roger?” “Oh my god, he’s a monster!”





	Keep Burning

_“The son of Gol D. Roger?”_

_“Oh my god, he’s a monster!”_

_“I thought we took care of this problem 20 years ago.”_

_“The people deserve justice!”_

_“He’s just a boy, he didn’t do anything.”_

_“Demon’s blood runs through his veins.”_

**_“Execute him.”_ **

 

Ace ran through the halls of the marine barracks. He’d been catching snippets of conversation about himself ever since the world found out about his parentage. The common belief was that Ace was now a monster, that he had always been a monster. People he thought were his friends were now suddenly convinced his smiles were false. As Ace’s legs turned to fire in his haste to get away, he thought that maybe it would be better if he was a cold hearted monster. Then he wouldn't feel this deep ache in his heart. Ace knew that he felt things deeply and had learned that there was no shame in a man expressing his emotions but _god_ this was too much.

“Ace! Hey kid wait up!”

_No no no no no_. Ace could not handle talking to anyone right now let alone an admiral. Ace wasn’t one of Doflamingo’s men so he didn’t know the man too well and now was certainly not the time to get to know him better. He was friendly enough with Doffy since Luffy was on his crew but the extent of their interactions were basically mess hall shenanigans and waving hello in the hallway.

Doflamingo reached out a hand to stop Ace from running but Rosi clicked his tongue.

“Don’t. He’s upset,” Rosi softly chided.

“Damn right he is,” Doffy said, raising his voice. “The people around here are such –“

“Silent.” Rosi snapped his fingers and a light purple bubble encompassed the two brothers.

“Fucking traitors! All of you!” Doffy pointed at a group of young marines walking by. The recruits jumped as they saw all 10 feet of Doflamingo aggressively gesture towards them soundlessly.

“Be careful what you say. There are always…”

“People listening. I know, I know!” He cracked his knuckles and took a deep breath to try and release his angry energy. It didn’t work. “This whole thing just reminds me of when we were kids.”

Rosi pressed his lips together and ran a hand through his curly hair. He opened his mouth a couple times like he wanted to say something but then just gave up and nodded. This happened sometimes, being unable to speak. It’s like the words were trapped in his throat and no matter how hard he tried Rosi just couldn’t let them out.

Doffy laid a hand on his little brother’s shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze.

“You okay?” he asked.

_“No.”_ Rosi signed. His hands stilled for a moment before forming more words. “ _But neither are you.”_

Doffy grinned without humor as he let go of Rosi to sign back. “ _You know me so well.”_

Rosi smiled wanly and gestured down the hallway where Ace was now nowhere to be seen. “ _Let’s go then.”_

“ _Yeah. Don’t want the kid to be alone.”_ Doffy remembered the look in Ace’s eyes as he ran past. He’d seen the same look in Rosi’s big brown eyes and on his own face when he dared to look in the mirror. Ace was in pain and right now he thought no one was on his side. Doffy was furious.

 

Ace had made it to the room he shared with his brother. He rushed inside and slammed the door behind him. Closing his eyes he leaned back against the door. _Deep breaths, Ace. Deep breaths. You’re okay, you’re fine._ He allowed himself to slowly slide down until he was sitting on the floor. As he sat there breathing he became aware of another presence in the room.

Luffy sat on Ace’s bed, bunching the nonregulation orange sheets between his fingers as he waited for Ace to say something.

“Luffy.”

“Yeah?”

Ace looked up at Luffy and held out his arms. Luffy wasted no time in launching himself at Ace, settling in his lap and wrapping his rubber limbs around the older boy. Ace gripped back tightly and buried his face in Luffy’s shoulder. They just stayed like that for a few moments, Ace taking comfort in the fact his brother would never hate him no matter what he did. It was a soothing feeling, knowing that someone would always have his back.

Someone knocked softly on the door. Luffy pulled back to look at Ace who quickly shook his head.

“Go away!” Luffy yelled. “I’ll kick your ass!”

Doflamingo snorted on the other side of the door. His hands twitched to use his strings to force the door open but one look from Rosi told him that was probably not the best idea.

“It’s me and Rosi, Monkey. Let us in. We just want to talk to Ace.”

Ace liked Rosi. He was quiet and had one of the most genuine smiles Ace had ever seen. Not as good as Luffy’s but pretty close. Ace cleared his throat and hoped his voice didn’t sound too rough.

“What do you want?” Ace winced as he heard himself speak. No voice break but he could feel the threat of one.

“I want you to know we’ve been where you are right now and I want…to fuck up all these bastards who-“ The sound of Rosi smacking Doffy’s head could be heard through the door. “Ow! Rosi, fuck! I’m keeping my voice down, god! I’m just so _angry_ that people think it’s okay to treat someone badly just cause of who or where they come from. This is not justice!”

Doffy hit the door with his fist. Ace could feel the vibration.

Ace steeled himself before standing up, Luffy still clung tightly to him.

“So…if Gol D. Roger had a son…” Ace said.

“I wouldn’t give a shit!”

Ace opened the door. Rosi, whose big clumsy body had been leaning against it, slipped backwards and hit the floor. Doffy used his strings to pick Rosi up before entering. Rosi sheepishly smiled and followed after his brother, shutting the door behind them.

The Donquixote brothers took a look around the small room. Other than two sets of bunkbeds, one of them completely unslept in, and a red beanbag chair there wasn’t much going on in there. A weird marine flag with what was probably supposed to be a straw hat painted on it was hung up in the corner. A couple pictures of Luffy and Ace with their friends were taped on the wall.

_“Nice flag,”_ Rosi signed.

“Thanks! Painted it myself,” Luffy grinned.

Ace hadn’t taken his eyes off of Doflamingo. Luffy trusts him so he figured the man wasn’t lying about what he said but Ace had always had difficulty with people accepting him. He just found it hard to believe.

“You really don’t care who my dad was?” Ace asked.

Doffy flopped down on the beanbag chair and stared right back at Ace. Or at least it seemed like he was, it was hard to tell with the sunglasses.

“Ace, sit down. I’m gonna tell you something,” Doffy said, cracking his knuckles.

Ace took a seat on his bed. Luffy unwound himself from Ace’s torso and sat crossed-legged beside him.

“Rosi and I…we’re like you. Our background is – well let’s just say it’s not for the public to know about.” Doffy glanced at Rosi who was starting to look a little pale. Rosi motioned for him to continue.

 “We used to be Celestial Dragons…we were kicked out when we were kids.” Doffy watched Ace’s eyes widen. “I don’t want to get too deep into it cause this isn’t about us right now but we know what it’s like to be hated just for being born.”

Rosi nodded. After a moment he quietly cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention.

“It’s not your fault, Ace,” Rosi softly said.

That was it. That did him in. Ace took a ragged breath and looked toward the ceiling.

“I did everything right and they still hate me.” Ace’s eyesight blurred with tears that he roughly wiped away.

“I try so _hard_ to be good, I became a goddamn marine and I’m still…everything is still ruined. I never even met my dad! I’m not a bad person…I don’t –“ Ace turned his head away and when he spoke next his voice was thick. “I don’t think I’m a bad person.”

“Ace…” Luffy said. He reached out to his brother but Ace stood up, full of anxious energy.

“But maybe I am! I don’t know! Maybe I’m just meant to be bad and there’s something inside me that’s messed up.” Ace squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his palms against them. “Maybe it really would be better if I was dead.”

“Ace you promised me you wouldn’t die,” Luffy said, his eyes filled with an intensity rarely seen on his usually joyful face. “You promised.”

“I know. Sorry, I know.” Ace was starting to find it hard to breathe. “It’s not like I want to die. I just…I just want everything to stop! I don’t want to walk down the hall and hear people I’ve never even met tell me I’m a demon or that I shouldn’t have been born! I know that stuff already!” His breaths were coming in gasps now. He barely noticed Luffy grabbing him by the shoulders, holding him upright. Ace thought he heard Luffy say something. His name maybe? Doesn’t matter. He can’t fucking _breathe_.

Ace suddenly felt the rough carpet of their room against his palms. When did he get on the floor?

“Ace. Look at me.” Ace managed to focus enough to look into Rosinante’s eyes. When did he get this close? “Try and breathe with me okay? In…Out…In…”

Ace slowly took in breaths, following Rosi’s lead. His shuttering gasps slowly turned into measured breathing. Ace wasn’t sure how long he sat there with the younger Donquixote brother but after a time he began to recognize his surroundings again. Ace noticed Luffy was sitting beside him, his face filled with worry. Doflamingo on the other hand hadn’t moved from his seat but he looked…scary.

“I’m going to kill Akainu and all of his lackeys, I swear to fucking—” Doffy clenched his fists to try and keep his rage in check. Ace was a _kid_.

“Doffy you just became an admiral. Now is not the time to be making enemies,” Rosi sighed.

“I’m not making enemies! He made an enemy of me when he decided to go after Ace’s head,” Doffy fumed. He stood up and began to pace the room but because of his large stature it kind of looked like he was just aggressively taking one step in each direction over and over.

“Akainu wants to hurt Ace?” Luffy questioned.

“Yeah but we’ll deal with that later.” Doffy squatted down and used his strings to make Ace face him. “You’re one of mine now, Ace. I just decided that and you don’t have a choice, okay?” Ace nodded with the help of Doffy’s strings. “Okay! Now listen, I have a zero tolerance policy for anyone hurting one of my own. Luffy?”

“Yeah, Mingo?”

“What do we do to people who hurt our family?”

“We beat ‘em up!” Luffy exclaimed, punching his own hand with a satisfying smack.

“Damn right!” Doffy released his strings and clapped Ace on the shoulder. “I’m gonna keep you safe. I promise.” _I won’t let you get hurt like I was._

Ace nodded again, this time of his own volition. He glanced back at Rosi and Luffy to find determined smiles on their faces.

“You know I’ve always got your back,” Luffy grinned.

“Okay,” said Ace. And in that moment, for the first time since this nightmare had begun, Ace felt like he really was going to be okay.


End file.
